CFP: Feminism &amp; HBO (5/7/04; journal issue)

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONSDeadline: May 7, 2004=20IT=B9S NOT TV, IT=B9S HBO:SEX, GENDER, & DESIRE ON RECENT HBO SERIESEditor: Lisa Johnson=20"This is way more than a tag line to us. This is the philosophy we infusewith all of the decisions we make, whether programming or marketing or newproduct calls. Everything we do is about doing things differently thansomewhere else." -Eric Kessler, AOL Time Warner sales and marketingpresident, on the =B3It=B9s Not TV, It=B9s HBO=B2 advertising campaign, 1997-2003.

The field of feminist television criticism is dominated by a singlequestion: Is this show feminist or not? A constellation of relatedquestions orbits tightly around this one: is the viewer feminist? Is thepleasure of the text feminist? And if the show is feminist, is it feministenough? From Ien Ang=B9s landmark analysis of Dallas to Bonnie J. Dow=B9sreadings of the Mary Tyler Moore show and Susan Douglas=B9s discussion ofBewitched and I Dream of Jeannie, critics tend to agree that contradiction,reciprocity, and ambivalence characterize the exchange between feminism andtelevision. How does this relationship change in the move from network tocable? Is HBO =B3doing things differently=B2=8Bfrom a feminist standpoint=8Bor hav=ethey just gotten slicker at repackaging old cultural scripts? Is itpossible that this mass media outlet is disseminating feminist knowledge byrevising gender roles, problematizing romance, and exploring alternativelifestyles? =20

This special issue of S&F (to be launched September 2004) seeks articlesthat explore the tensions between conventional ideologies of gender, sex,and desire and progressive interventions on a single HBO series (Six FeetUnder, The Sopranos, Oz, Sex and the City, Mind of the Married Man, or CurbYour Enthusiasm). Each article should include a close reading of a singlescene as the material through which to demonstrate your argument about thebalance or bias of the show (S&F will help contributors secure permissionsfrom HBO to show this clip as part of the article in an effort to utilizethe web=B9s multi-media potential). In addition, the article must positionthe show in a specific theoretical context and make a substantialcontribution to the field of feminist television criticism. The ideal pape=rwill be theoretically informed but free of jargon and accessible to a wideaudience. Length: 2500 words.

S&F also invites poetry, art, and multimedia contributions that reflect onthe relationship between women and television.

Finally, if you are interested in writing a book review essay on existingacademic treatments of HBO series, please submit a list of titles and yourCV by March 15 for consideration.

=20SUGGESTED CONTEXTS FOR CRITICAL ARTICLES=20* Cultural Studies=8Bconnect to work on other series (Dallas, Melrose Place,Buffy, etc.)=20=20* Queer Theory=8Bon representations of homosexuality, dramatizing debates ove=rgay sex, gay marriage, gay adoption; or connect to concept of =B3queeringheterosexuality=B2 (decentering straight culture, revealing dysfunctionalityof hetero nuclear families, highlighting and resisting hetero privilege)=20* Feminist Theory=8Brevisit debates over =B3pleasure and danger=B2 (are feministsallowed to watch TV before the revolution? What do feminists =B3do=B2 withHBO?); or address =B3images of women=B2 on HBO, the presence of multiplefemininities, masculinities, heterosexualities, and homosexualities(interventions in monolithic representation of gender, sex, and desire)=20* Film Theory=8Bposition feminist viewing practices of HBO in field of theoryon the gaze=8Bpost-Mulvey, postmodern, 3rdwave=20* (Post/Neo)Marxism and Aesthetics=8Brevisit the culture industry debate (thepower of the text to indoctrinate vs. the power of the viewer to resist,remake, read differently)=20SUBMISSION GUIDELINES=20Please send completed works to Dr. Lisa Johnson (mjohnson_at_coastal.edu) byMay 7. The Scholar and Feminist Online is a peer-reviewed journal. Youwill be notified by mid-June if your piece is to be included, at which timeyou will participate in a brief revision process. Accepted articles may als=oappear in a book project based on this issue.

ABOUT S&F ONLINE

S&F Online, a tri-annual interactive webjournal and academic zine, providespublic access to the Barnard Center for Research on Women=B9s most innovativeprogramming by posting written transcripts, audio and visual recordings, an=dlinks to relevant intellectual and social action networks. The journalbuilds on these programs by publishing related scholarship and otherapplicable resources. A forum for scholars, activists, and artists whosework articulates the ever-evolving role of feminism in struggles for socialjustice, S&F Online brings you the latest in cutting-edge theory andpractice. =20

The Barnard Center for Research on Women was founded in 1971 as one of thefirst feminist research institutes and is home to the nationally recognizedThe Scholar & the Feminist Conference. In the 1980s, anthologies, includin=gThe Future of Difference (1981) and Pleasure and Danger (1982), were basedon this conference. S&F Online continues the transformation of live eventto publication, launching the conference=8Band its progeny=8Binto the 21stcentury.=20

Designed and managed by a crew of third-wave feminists in tune withtechnology, S&F Online transforms the eponymous conference as well as theCenter's other popular programs into a living archive. A fusion of art,criticism, activism, and technology, S&F Online invites its audience to joi=nin the conversation. Issue 3.1=8BSex, Gender, and Desire on HBO=8Bis the secon=dinstallment of the new Feminist Futures Series.